This week in class we talked about a piece in class titled, “Vocation in Work”, written by Dorothy L. Sayers during World War 2. Sayers is writing in the Post-Christian era where one of the main debates is whether a job is still considered a vocation. One way that she interprets this issue is by analyzing an artist’s viewpoint on vocation. An artist “lives to work” in opposition to working for the money, otherwise known as working to live. In other words, she suggests that sometimes there is working for a job, but our calling is rather to do what we enjoy when we are not doing our job. The artist is an example of those who live to work. They are not merely working for the money, they are rather working for the security to live while they make what they truly want. Artists need the money, not in order to live, but rather in order to work more on what they love to do. For those who must “work to live,” Sayers suggests that leisure time is their opportunity to do what they love. This ties into her ideas on leisure and how humanity continues to create more leisure time through time saving devices. She criticizes society for making time, just to spend it in “idleness” or “passive” activities.

Interpret

Throughout her writing, she discusses her dislike of communism because it makes working for material gain into the ultimate definition of what it means to be human. Genesis 1:27 states, “God made man in his own image — in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Seeing as she loves the idea of the artist living to work, she would rather see people doing what they enjoy instead of what money they will receive for doing certain jobs. Sayers writes, ” To assume… that economics is the sole basis of man’s dealings with nature and with his fellow-men is the very negation of all Christian principle” (Callings, 407).

Evaluate

I found her writing and ideas very intriguing, especially coming from a family where we find leisure very important because we often don’t get very much of it. I also notice that often I only enjoy a certain type of leisure where I am relaxing in my own way that doesn’t consist of just sitting around. I would rather be doing something that helps others or even meaningful time with family and friends. With the language that she used, I kept imagining myself building something useful during my free time, especially when she says that people are created to create, just as God has created us and how that correlates with my life. When I say build stuff, I mean that I enjoy feeling accomplished, that I have done a good job and done something that is useful to others. That is where I totally agree with her ideas that people should feel like their work has meaning. How can people work to the best of their abilities if they do not enjoy what they are doing? The issue that I do have with her ideas about work, is that there should be that balance between work and home. I feel like I get just as much out of spending time with my family as I do when I am accomplishing something important. Family is important, and they influence what my calling in life is just as much as I do myself.

Spring Into Dance, held here at Concordia St. Paul, and was put on by the department of music, theatre, and dance. The performance ran very similar to many theatre plays, in the way that they went from dance group to dance group, with an intermission in the middle. The first half of the performance consisted of eight dance pieces, and the second half consisted of seven different pieces, with the last piece being a compilation of many Broadway hit scenes. In-between each dance there was a recording with tiny pieces from the upcoming dance; while this was going on, the choreographer for that dance would talk about themselves and why they created some of the choreography that they had. This added piece of the performance gave the crowd a quality insight into what they were to expect, as well as allowed the audience to gain a deeper understanding of those who were choreographing the dance pieces. The performance ended with all the dancers on stage dancing to a final piece and bowing to the audience for the entertainment that they had just provided.

Interpret

I noticed from the videos that many students who graduate with a dance minor or major come back to Concordia to choreograph a dance for Spring Into Dance four choreographers were Concordia Alumni who had returned to choreograph their own piece. This gives me the impression that the many years that these choreographers had here at Concordia were important enough for them to return and contribute to those dancers still in the program. It was also clear to me that there are many passionate dancers who are in the programming with an enjoyment for choreography. There were a total of ten student choreographers who also gave their gifts and talents to the performance.

Evaluate

In my opinion, Spring into Dance resembled that of the art exhibit I attended last week, due to the way that the choreographers and dancers express themselves in a way that is vulnerable. The vulnerability helps to bring out their own personalities in what they are dancing to. I especially liked the performance named “Tightrope,” not only because I love the movie that the song came from, but also because of the emotion that they put into the dance itself. They danced in a way that had the audience believing that this scenario was happening right there in front of them; as the husband continues to drift away, the wife tries all that she can to stay with him. I thoroughly enjoyed all the hard work that went into that piece. I also enjoyed the piece that had all the performers on stage, swing dancing. I enjoyed the aspects of the dance where the dancers were able to express themselves in a fun way, that was also exciting, as an audience participant watching. Another aspect of theater that I was able to witness first hand was the audience participation, which adds a lot to the atmosphere of the performance. Throughout the show I was sitting behind two younger boys, and by the end of the performance they were laughing in a way that was contagious to all around them– which happened to include me-and their laughter and joy for the show only raised my praises for what all the performers had done.

I attended an event that took place at Concordia, St. Paul, regarding the ever-increasing immigration issues here in the United States. There was a decent crowd of people there to listen to what people had to say and learn things that they didn’t know in regard to the way immigration is handled. The presentation time was blocked out into certain increments that began with a current immigration issues presentation, a dinner break where everyone was fed tamales, and lastly a discussion panel. The current immigration issues section discussed the different ways that people enter the country and the difficulty the government continues to force on these immigrants seeking refuge in the United States. The dinner break consisted of being fed three different types of tamales that many people in the room had never tasted before. The discussion panel was very intriguing due to the wide array of panel speakers that were present. These speakers came from multiple professions and backgrounds of life, but they all dealt with the problem of immigration rules in one way or another.

Interpret

It was clear to see from the expressions on their faces and their pure emotion that could be heard in their voice that the panelists cared deeply about the topic. They have experienced immigration either first hand, dealt with the people and their stories, or was an attorney for someone trying to make it into the United States. It was evident that what they all truly wanted was for people to realize that change is necessary to they way that things are run. It should be easier for someone who needs to flee to the United States and seek asylum. Immigration affects everybody, and it can be easy to say that people who are not from the United States should not be allowed to enter, but people will have a hard time saying that when they hear the stories of families being separated and forced to leave and fear death in returning to their homeland.

Evaluate

I think there is a lot of power in putting oneself in the shoes of one of these families going through the proper way to receive asylum. For instance, one made-up scenario could be when my older sibling who was not born in the United States, was caught without proper identification resulting in the government discovering he is an illegal immigrant. He now has to go back to Mexico, even though he has spent a majority of his life in the United States and live with a family relative that he doesn’t even know. None of us know when we will ever be able to see him again. The speakers continued to talk about fear and how controlling over their lives that this fear of being caught can truly be. They might not feel safe calling the police in any circumstance to deal with a crime and instead keep it a secret. These people do not have a social security number and cannot drive legally in the United States because they cannot acquire a driver’s license. They also must kiss any scholarship money goodbye, because they need a social security number to apply, which makes it hard to pay for college and make a better life for themselves. These youth or young adults have a much harder life than US citizens and I think people often overlook that people are people no matter what. Who am I to say that someone seeking refuge is not allowed to come into the United States? Most people are decent human beings and will work hard for whatever wages they can receive, often doing the jobs that nobody else wants to do. So, I believe we should have less strict immigration laws, and I feel like I learned many things of value from this immigration lecture.

Christian callings in a Post-Christian world has a section written by Howard Thurman titled, What Shall I do with My Life? This blog aims to talk about Thurman’s ideas that he wrote in this section and what it means for everybody and especially for Christians. Thurman was raised by his grandmother and lived a life full of poverty. He served as a pastor for many years and was deeply committed to the idea of non-violence, which was especially critical because he was an African American living through segregation and later the Civil Rights Movement. This section of the book comes from a sermon that Thurman had given based on Matthew 4:1-11 where the devil chose to tempt Jesus three times, and Jesus refused every time doing what was right. The first temptation came when Jesus was hungry and the devil tempted him with bread; Jesus came to the conclusion that man cannot live on bread alone and shut the devil down. The second temptation came when the tempter suggested that Jesus go to the pinnacle of the temple, cast himself down, and he would not be hurt because of God. Jesus replies, “If I cast myself down, I will break my neck!” The conclusion from this temptation was that nobody can disregard the ordinary processes of life and hope or a miracle. The last temptation occurred when the devil brought Jesus to high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms and declared that he would give them all to Jesus if Jesus would bow down and worship him. Jesus replied by saying that God is the all-powerful ruler and that he is the only one who controls relationships between mankind. Throughout the entire sermon, Thurman continued to raise the question, what shall I do with my life?

Interpret

Thurman, coming from the background that he had thus far in his life, wrote this as a way to add his perspective on non-violence and peace. This can be seen by his use of the Bible, “And again he said, rejoice when men persecute you for my sake, for it means that you are making inroads on territory that is foreign to the will of God” (Callings, 388). It is important to stand up for what one believes in and this can be seen in Thurman as he aided in the civil rights movement. It can also be interpreted that Thurman enjoys this piece from Matthew, as it helps people to understand what their own calling is. People’s callings are to purify one’s hearts and build relationships between good men that can function to the glory of God.

Evaluate

From my understanding, when Jesus talks to his disciples, he is saying that you should be glad in doing what is right even if others don’t see it the same way that you do. My personal story that goes along with what Jesus stated occurred when I was in high school. I had been on the Northeastern LYO(Lutheran Youth Organization) board for over three years, and every year we have the senior high youth gathering on the first weekend of March. The problem arose when my basketball coach randomly scheduled a game over the weekend which conflicted with LYO, something that I truly loved to be apart of. I politely told the coach that I would not be at the game because this event had been on my calendar far longer than this basketball game. All the coaches did not see it the way that I was seeing it, and I was punished with minimal playing time in the game after I had gotten back from the weekend. My point is that I not once regret the decision that I had made; basketball was something that I did for fun in high school, but my life in faith was going to last an eternity. All in all, I looked to the Bible when I was struggling with my decision and the way that Jesus puts it in this verse in Matthew is perfect, especially because he knew what the disciples would have to endure when he was gone. We must all do what is right, because if we don’t, then we are just denying who we are.

The Student Juried Exhibition, held in the art building on the campus of Concordia St. Paul, showed art from the students of Concordia St. Paul and came in a wide variety of pieces. The exhibit was made up of sculptures, paintings, portraits, drawings, photos, and even a short movie shown on a monitor. All these forms of art portrayed different ideas and used their own flare to convey their ideas. Some forms of art were on the human body, others were clay sculptures or sculptures made of other objects, and portraits varied from creatures of some kind to playing cards. All this art had its own hidden meaning that reflects the person who created them and what issue they were trying to portray. The most common issues had to deal with technology, anxiety, depression, and domestic abuse. At the middle of the time allotted for the art opening, there was a little presentation of awards, to a few students for the art that they had created. The exhibit was judged from a professional juror who came up from Florida and spent several hours looking at the student’s artwork. This judge had nothing but high praise for the students and enjoyed his time while judging at Concordia. The top artists who received the Studio Art Awards were Celine Paez, Daniel Gates, and Daniel Odene, based upon the work that they had exhibited in this art exhibit.

Interpret

Throughout the brief presentation it was made clear that the art department at Concordia St. Paul stands for nothing less than hard work. They reiterated how important work ethic is into becoming great artists.Their teachers have allowed all these artists to flourish into the abilities that they have now. It was intriguing to hear how they described a great art department as one that doesn’t focus so much on the quantity of work made, but on the quality of the work that they produce. So, there is way more to being an artist than creating the stuff, but rather being passionate about what is being created. Lastly, it was clear to see that it took a tremendous amount of courage to display their art to the public, but these students worked hard and deserved all the praise that was coming their way.

Evaluate

I have never been someone who has found much interest in art, especially because I was never great at drawing and that led to my first B I had ever received in class during high school. The point that I am trying to make is that even though I am not a huge fan of art, I respect those who can put their heart and souls into their pieces. I especially enjoyed a piece from the art exhibit named “Lost Beauty”, a sculpture made from books intended to portray the idea that books are losing their value today. The books near the back were closed and organized, but as the books were making their way towards the front of the sculpture, they started to become less organized, opening their pages and eventually having the pages coming right out of the books. These artists were able to create art that means something, and I could tell that some of them were able to portray who they are in their art, even what they have struggled with in life; it is their way of dealing with these problems. Overall, the art exhibit allowed me to gain a new perspective on art and to appreciate what the art department here on Concordia’s campus is striving to do.

The Christus Chorus, which is the elite choir on campus, gave an astounding performance for their 2018 Christus Chorus Home Concert. The event was held in the chapel at Concordia University, St. Paul, and it was an extremely packed house. The choir was directed by Dr. David L. Mennicke and at times was even conducted by some of the students. The event was not only singing, but it also involved some instruments which showed off the student’s abilities even further. The name of the concert was “Saved by Grace”, in direct correlation with the main theme that has been explored this year on campus, especially how it is through Christ that we are saved by grace. The concert was split into three sections with a brief pause between the first and second section, and an intermission between the second and the third section. The names of the sections are as follows and in this order: The Saving Grace of the Father; Jesus, Our Gracious Savior; and lastly Holy Spirit:By Grace, Saved through Faith.

Interpret

It was evident throughout the entire performance that the group was well rehearsed, not only with the songs that they were singing, but also with their movements as they went from one thing to the next without hesitation. They would walk in after each break in a way that was not the typical single file line and instead was more intricate. They also had times throughout the performance where they would either encircle the room or shift themselves in the room, which was pulled off without a hitch. It was also clear that the group was rehearsed in keeping eye-contact with Dr. Mennicke; they all kept their eyes on him throughout nearly every song, and this focus translated into their execution of beginning and ending the song in unison. Overall, I could see that all those who were involved in the Christus Choir care a lot about singing and the group as a whole.

Evaluate

There were three portions of the concert that I thoroughly enjoyed as an audience participant. The first portion was the song that involved audience participation and was named Ubi Caritas. I loved being able to sing with the choir and feel like I was an active participant in the concert. It was great to hear the entire room erupt in song. The second portion that I thoroughly enjoyed was when the entire choir surrounded the audience and sang the song, Will the Circle Be Unbroken. I was able to hear the choir very clearly and even hear many individual voices that I could not while they were all singing in the front. I especially enjoyed hearing the low voices that add so much to the group. The last portion that I certainly enjoyed came at the end of the performance when they invited past members who had sang in the chorus to join them on the stage. That is when I realized that the choir has built this community of people who enjoy singing and it spans many generations. I was able to see a couple instances where a chorus member had both their parents and grandparents join them on stage and that was incredible to see this family united through this choir. It is amazing to see how the choir was able to relay the message of being saved by grace.

To fulfill one of the blog requirements, I attended the 7th International Conference on Hmong Studies hosted by Concordia University St. Paul. In particular, the portion of the weekend where there was a video shown on “The Hmong and the Secret War”. The video revolved around the central idea of America’s rich diversity and how the Hmong play their role. The video was produced by PBS, and some people from the station were intending to join the session and join in conversation, but something came up and everyone in the room had to settle for just watching the film. The film dealt with the Hmong people, the American involvement in Vietnam as well as the secret war that was happening in Laos. What was occurring in Vietnam was also occurring in Laos in its own way. The United States, trying to repress the spread of communism, gave aid to the Hmong people in Laos who were opposing the communism that occupied Laos. The main leader of the Hmong was Vang Pao, who wanted his own people to fight. Vang Pao wanted the CIA to provide munitions and other necessities, but the Hmong would be those who would fight to regain control. The realization of war is that it is bloody and nasty, which resulted in the loss of many Hmong soldiers by the end of the conflict. An especially sad fact that the video made clear was that the Hmong drafted into the army 11-year-old boys to help fight. Near the end of the war, the Hmong were losing and eventually it was decided that the US would evacuate the remaining Hmong to the Unites States. The evacuation was so chaotic that only 3000 Hmong were evacuated, and the rest were forced to flee for their lives. Most of those who survived ended up in refugee camps in Thailand.

Interpret

It is evident from the entire weekend that the Hmong are proud of their heritage as they should be, and it is very important that people are able to hear their stories. “The Hmong and the Secret War” is something that seems to be overshadowed by the Vietnam war. People in the United States focus more on the war that the United States fought with their own men in comparison to the war in Laos where they only provided supplies. It was also evident from watching the show that the Hmong were not afraid to risk their lives for what they believed in. They continued to fight, even when it seemed hopeless. They were a proud people who were forced to leave their homes because of all the fighting. This had to have been difficult for them to leave all they know behind and seek refuge in the United States. It can also be assumed that they weren’t treated with the most respect when they made it to the United States because their heritage resembled that of the enemy in which the United States had just fought in Vietnam. It appeared that the Hmong had spent most of their lives dealing with turmoil, both before and after the war.

Evaluate

I think that the most important that I learned from this whole experience that really does not come from the Hmong in particular, is that it is important to learn people’s stories. From stories we are able to learn and grow; by hearing some of the stories that the Hmong described throughout the show and I learned that war is nasty. We can lean about the culture of the region from the perspective of these people first-hand in comparison to a text book, and we can learn from their view-point about the war. It was intriguing to see how many people of different cultures were in the room watching the video and how important this conference was to those of Hmong descent. It comes to show that all this information is not pertinent to one group, rather it is applicable to everyone coming from any background. All in all, I was able to grow a deeper appreciation and respect for the Hmong culture.

This section in the Reformation portion of the book Callings includes a personal narrative written by Jonathan Edwards. Edwards was born in 1703 and grew up in the New England Frontier. He was a pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts, and helped to lead a revival during the years of 1734-1735. This was all a precursor to the Great Awakening that filled the colonies of North America throughout the 1740s. Edwards brought a lot of philosophical ideas into his teachings and used his insights to gain a deeper knowledge on some key subjects. Throughout his personal narrative, he discusses his life rooted in faith and how he wavered to sin often and in particular, two specific times in his life. He then discusses how he lived his life after these times of succumbing to sin and how he had a great awakening with Christ.

Interpret

Throughout his personal narrative Edwards would often be discussing sin and what that meant for him. That he was a firm believer in the free grace of God is particularly evident throughout this passage from him: “Were it not for free grace, exalted and raised up to the infinite heights of all the fulness and Glory of the great Jehovah, and the arm of his power and grace stretched force in all the majesty of his power , and in all the glory of his sovereignty, I should appear sunk down in my sins below hell itself”(Callings, p. 314). It is only by the grace of God that one can truly escape the clutches of sin because we are not good enough nor deserve all that God has provided. It was very evident that Edwards appreciated all that nature had to offer. “God’s excellency, his wisdom, his purity and love, seemed to appear in everything; in the sun, moon, and stars; in the clouds and blue sky; in the grass, flowers, trees; in the water and all nature; which greatly fixed my mind” (Callings, p. 313). He did not take for granted anything that God had provided and often embraced all that nature had to offer, seeing God in everything.

Evaluate

It was really easy for me to relate with Jonathan Edwards, he had gone through certain things in life that I believe many Christians have to face. There is always a time in life where faith can be tested, and it is how we deal with that and persevere which shows who we truly are. For instance, Jonathan Edwards declared that he continued to fall into sin (p. 311), but that didn’t stop him from growing even closer to Christ after the experience. An example that I have is when a relative or friend, passes on and it is really difficult to see that as a part of God’s plan. Through these times of strife, I find myself strugging to keep it together, but in the end finding myself having a stronger relationship with God. Another area that Jonathan Edwards discussed was his finding peace in prayer while in nature. I find it most helpful and beneficial for myself to also pray while surrounded by God’s beautiful creation, but also in certain times when the scenario calls for it. One time while serving at the Salvation Army, he came up to me and asked if I would pray with him as he was going through this difficult time in his life. God’s presence was clear in that scenario for the both of us, and I couldn’t believe how simple and powerful prayer could be.

The 17th annual Poehler Lecture was titled “Labels and the death of free speech: What does this mean?” The honored speaker for the night was Tom Hanson, a professor of management and law for over thirty years at Concordia. The Poehler Lecture was held in the Buetow Auditorium and had an emphasis on trying to not change the viewpoints of the audience, but rather to have those in the crowd critically thinking. Mr. Hanson especially wanted the audience to think critically about their own lives and how his topic may be influencing them. In his lecture, he stood right behind the podium and spoke like it was a normal lecture, but he also added some useful visuals in the videos that he showed the audience. His main topics included the privilege of living in the United States, types of biases that people have, limiting of free speech, “Isms”, having a righteous mind, and ways to overcome all of this.

Interpret

He began by saying that the people in the United States are blessed to have what they have. We are blessed, according to Hanson because of the system the United States has in place with the Bill of Rights and in particular, freedom of speech. Additionally, he added that many states are starting to limit free speech and that many corporations have more control over free speech than the government because of certain platforms. Corporations have the money and the power to influence people’s lives more than any time in history, especially through the use of technology.

Another topic discussed involved the use of biases, and he named a few in particular, like confirmation bias and in-group bias. He discussed bias in order to make the point that many people need to look at their perspectives through a different lens. He argued that those who lack self-awareness are much quicker to judge someone before they get to know them. Next, he talked about some “Isms” and how hate speech is not very well defined. This leads into discrimination and how easy it is to discriminate against a certain gender or race. Continuing on, he talked a little about politics and how there seems to be so much separation. This ties back to his idea on perspective and how we need to look at certain problems with a new lens. Lastly, he discusses the ways that everyone can overcome these problems that need to be dealt with. First and foremost, we need to be civil and learn how to view the problem through the other party’s perspective. People need to have free speech, but within reason, which Prof. Hanson argued means to be civil with the free speech that is being used. Lastly, he declares that people need to be treated generously, implying even more than treating someone equally.

Evaluate

I thought that what he had to say about all these issues was very important. Everybody needs to know how important it is that we combat these problems in the right way and with dignity to everyone. In particular, I agree with some of the ways that he suggests we all solve are differences. We need to continue to be civil and stop pointing fingers at each other, which has gotten things nowhere. We need to focus more on what brings us all together and less on what separates us from each other. I thoroughly enjoyed the video that he showed, this video included an analysis being taken from human beings that help display their ethnic backgrounds . We are able to see an interview before they find out their results of a DNA test, which will determine their ethnicities that they may not know about. Many people were scrutinizing certain groups of people based on the ethnicity that they already knew about. To the surprise of many, they were all from a vast number of places, making it very hard to judge a certain group of people. I thought the overall message of this video was intriguing and not something that I saw coming. The message was that we all have more in common than we often can imagine. There is so much more to love in this world than there is to hate. We are all human beings, and we all deserve to be treated generously.

The Honors class has made it to the Reformation era in our readings from Callings on Christian vocation, one reading, titled “The Gospel for the Early Christmas Service”, was taken from a collection of sermons written by Martin Luther between the years of 1521 and 1522 while he was hidden away in Wartburg Castle. The sermon based on Luke 2:15-20, which is the story where the shepherds go visit baby Jesus and then return to their sheep. Luther in his sermon takes the approach that Christians view all works as the same and do not need to run away into the desert to seek clarity with God. Luther adds that it is not the external disposition that needs to change, but rather the internal disposition. People need to seek that internal disposition of faith and love, instead of seeking works as a way of seeking favor with God. He uses a verse from Luke 17:20-21; which states, ”The kingdom of God does not come in an external manner and one cannot say, ‘Lo, here and there,’ but the kingdom of God is within you.” At a time when the pope and church officials believed that salvation depended on their person and work, while Luther argued that there is nothing that people can give God in return for his goodness and grace.

Interpret

Luther uses this very famous Christmas story presented in Luke to form an argument on Christians having a calling that does not involve becoming a monk. He uses his words and use of bible passages to form an argument that people do not need to switch professions. Rather, people need to use their Christian faith in all aspects of life. Luther discusses, “They return to their place in the fields to serve God there” (Callings, p. 214). The shepherds just witnessed the most amazing thing in Jesus Christ and afterwards they didn’t change what they normally do, but returned to their occupation. This is where Luther adds that people do not need to change their external disposition, but rather their internal disposition. The shepherds were just changed internally with their hearts and faith, but they still returned to the occupation that they had experienced almost all their life. They are now able to use this internal change for the better in their occupation, and that is exactly what Luther tries to portray.

Evaluate

I absolutely love the way that Luther uses this Bible passage to portray a very important idea that would shock the way that people view their calling. It was very easy for people to believe what was common in this time that is, that they must use their external works to try and reach their way into the kingdom of God. Since I am a Lutheran, I have always believed that there is nothing we can possibly do to receive the grace that God gives us, which really opposed the popular belief of that time. God gives us something unfathomable: everlasting life in him, which seems impossible because we do not deserve it in the least. God sent his only Son in this Bible passage, so that he may be the savior of all nations and because of this we do not need to worry about our external work. God himself does the internal works, to reach our hearts and mind to create faith, which allows people to use his peace and love to do external works out of love. With all this in mind, it is clear to see that the calling we all have is important, no matter what sort of calling it may be. It is more important that we remain true in heart in whatever calling God has planned for us.